SPIS TREŚCI

TABLE OF CONTENTS

WSTĘP

INTRODUCTION

Zapis debaty zorganizowanej przez Bibliotekę Publiczną m.st. Warszawy oraz Katedrę Studiów Azjatyckich Uniwersytetu SWPS 25 maja 2017 r.

Uczestnicy debaty:

• Krzysztof Gawlikowski
• Michał Kołodziejski
• Waldemar Dubaniowski
• Ksawery Burski
• Janusz Cieślak
• Krzysztof Szumski
• Krystyna Palonka
• Aleksander Bukowski
• Michał Strąk

Singapore: Global Metropolis Against New Challenges

For many reasons, Singapore is an exceptional country, sometimes referred to as “a piece of the West in Asia”, a place where the West meets with the East or as “Asian Switzerland”. Currently, the city-state can boast of great achievements, including the status of a global metropolis – the center of business, trade, maritime and air transport, finance, arbitration and tourism. For a long time, it has been at the top positions in global economic rankings, including the GDP per capita. It remains one of the most competitive economies in the world. In 2015, the city-state celebrated the 50th anniversary of independence, which was an opportunity to recall the key role played by Lee Kuan Yew, the founder of independence, the current economic strength and significant position of Singapore in the international arena. The principle of an open economy, which Singapore has been following from the beginning, was a key strategy for the development of modern and competitive industries and leverage to raise Singapore’s living standards to the highest world level. In its short history, the city-state faced challenges as it is now facing new internal (the question of maintaining stability after the loss of leader and strategist, such as Lee Kuan Yew) and the external challenges (transformation of the global balance of power, accommodating China’s rise in power, a change in the paradigm of the American administration’s trade policy under President D. Trump).
The aim of the article is to present these challenges that the Singaporeans – Government and Society – will have to solve in order to maintain economic growth, high standards of living and high international position in the post-Lee Kuan Yew era.

Lee Kuan Yew – a phenomenal visionary

The article presents the profile of Lee Kuan Yew – the founding father of modern Singapore and its prime minister from 1959 to 1990. The author outlines Lee’s background and the perspective on a changing region and on the global political economy. He presents the key insights and opinions of that grand strategist and visionary on geopolitics of East and West, globalization, economic growth, and democracy. The article offers Lee Kuan Yew’s assessment of the United States’ position as the world’s superpower, of the China’s future, India’s future, Islamic terrorism. It presents Lee’s strategic advice for dealing with China.

Singapore Golden Jubilee: Chinese community’s contribution to the building Singaporean national identity

The article presents the significant contributions of the Chinese community to the Singaporean nation building during the first 50 years of the independence. It is based on a book 50 Years of the Chinese Community in Singapore. The text presents the major Chinese organizations, including the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations, the Chinese Development Assistance Council and the Chinese Heritage Centre. The author, former Polish ambassador to Singapore, outlines several main issues, that provoked controversies within the Chinese community, such as the use of the Chinese language and the integration of the new immigrants from China. The author presents also the role of the Chinese religions, the development of the cultural life, and the role played by the Singaporean Chinese in relations with China and the neighboring countries.

The Kingdom of Thailand encounters new challenges

The article presents deeply polarized Thai society, a political crisis and confrontation between supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra against the royalists. The article presents how the crisis was sending convulsions across the country and influencing foreign policy and international situation of Thailand. The author describes last months in office of the caretaker prime minister Ms Yingluck Shinawatra (youngest sister of Thaksin) when she faced charges of negligence and malfeasance for her role in approving a rice – pledging scheme, when the government purchased rice from farmers at inflated prices in a move to be permanently in power.
The author presents also the dramatic days, when army general Prayuth Chan-ocha declared martial law in a move to quell escalating unrest. In the article the role of late King Bhumibol Adulyadej is shortly presented as well as enigmatic behaviour of successor – his only son Maha Vajiralongkorn.
In the second part of the article the author presents reforms and policy of new prime minister general Prayuth, his promise about an election time frame. The article describes also the foreign policy of military government, and the role of Thailand in the growing competition between the big powers in the region of South East Asia, especially the United States and Japan against China.

Fragmenty większej całości do druku wybrała Malgorzata Ławacz

The roads of Hindutva. Extreme Hindu(is)ness confronted with colonial and post-colonial versions of Hinduism

Dealing with the key category of Hinduism imported from English linguistic habits (of “-isms’), some eminent Indian researchers evolved this notion from ancient roots of hindu dharma. In modern times of colonial and post-colonial ages it has been confronted in cultural and political space as two polarised worldviews. The first one has been seen as tolerant neo-Hinduism proclaimed at the down of Independence by Mahatma Gandhi (with Indian Congress Party support) and the other one has been described as extreme Hindutva connected with modern outlook of W. Damodar Sarvodar. The first one formed sound foundation for the Nehru-Gandhi family line, ruling India in the second part of the 20th Century. And the other one has been built as the foundation for opposite socio-political formations, starting from Sarvodar and ending with the contemporary leader of BJP, Narendra Modi. The direct and indirect connections of the outlook of contemporary Hindutva have been described together with recent evolution of Narendra Modi and his supporters. This duality of Indian political scene has been shown in comparative modern world entourage as the prevailing tendency of the our century.

Bioethics in India. New Ideas and Reinterpretation of the Sources

India faces dilemmas and challenges typical for a fast and uncontrolled development of the biomedical services. There is a need to regulate biomedical market not only by the rules of the ethics of business exchange. Indian society suffers from misuse of biomedicine, such as trade of organs, forced sterilization of women, omitting informed consent during clinical trials, paternalism in relation between physician and patient as well as overuse of surrogate mothers etc. Recent legal initiative to ban a commercial surrogacy is a sign that a bioethical deliberation in the Indian society is on the rise. The question is if in India there exists any specific kind of bioethics or if they are implementing standards of the Western, mainly principalistic and utilitarian bioethics? The aim of the text is to describe the main features, sources and ideas of the Hindu bioethics. Although there is no single, monolithic, and coherent Hindu bioethics some common traits can be distinguished. Among them there is a core ethical value of ahimsa, holistic concept of health and a wide acceptance of genetic modifications and transplantations due to the concept of transformation of all life’s manifestations which is deeply rooted in Indian culture.

The ancient roots of the term the “Middle State’: Remarks on the evolution of the Chinese identity

The author outlines first the contemporary essential terms related to the “Chineseness”; 1) the ‘Middle’ or ‘Central State’ (Zhongguo); with its derivates – a ‘Chinese’ (Zhongguoren) and the ‘Chinese nation’ (zhongguo minzu); 2) ‘the Middle Country of Splendid Culture’ (Zhonghua), and its derivates – ‘the Republic of China’ (Zhonghua Min’guo) and the ‘People’s Republic of China’ (Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo), the ‘All-Chinese nation’ (zhonghua minzu); ‘rejuvenation of China’ (Zhonghua fuxing); 3) ‘Chinese’ as ethnicity or cultural characteristics (Han). The southern term (tang) and its use is indicated. Their content is briefly presented: as political, cultural and ethnic. Then the author analyses the evolution of the term ‘Middle/Central State’ starting with the concept of the ‘Central Shang [capital]’ (Zhong Shang) and the ‘capital region’. The ‘five parts of the world’ (wu fang) appears essential in its genesis. Various ancient mystical meanings and semi-religious notions are considered. The author indicates when and in what sense the term had been used.
The author also analyses various ancient notions of ‘the Middle State’; its belt structure, its division into ‘9 provinces’, the concept of the ‘continent’ (in between the Four Seas), a 1/9 part of one continent among 9, the ‘holy land’; the Buddhist concept that the true Middle State is in India, etc. The ancient sources are extensively quoted and analyzed.
Hence it becomes obvious that this contemporary political term has various nuances and potential meanings, since traditional culture is still vivid.

Sexual revolution in China – analysis of the global and inner factors

This paper investigates the phenomenon of “sexual revolution” in Mainland China, in other words changes in sexual attitudes and interpersonal relationships among Chinese people after 1979. Until the end of the Mao era strict norms prevailed, with sex outside marriage widely forbidden and strongly frown upon. Authors aim to present historical and cultural conditioning of China’s society that paved the way towards changes in sexual behaviors and practices. In order to further our understanding of the changing nature of sexual behaviors and attitudes, this article examines data obtained from research, surveys and interviews conducted among Chinese in different age groups and place of residence (urban and rural) in Mainland China. Premarital sex, extramarital relationships, mating strategies and sex work practices are analysed. Based on up-to date articles and scientific evidence authors argue than the Single Child Policy was one of the factors that contributed to “sexual revolution” and further, to enormous success of sexual products on the local e-market. The influence of individualist values and the changing cultural norms pertaining to sexual behaviors and mating practices are discussed.